More evidence (.wmv format) that the times really are a’ changin’ — hardly a social revolution, but awareness of issues like this is certainly on the rise.
NHRC webpage here.
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15 Comments
That is awesome! I just hope they can get some decent air time so that people can see it regularly…some time on OCN would be perfect.
I have a daughter who is Korean and American….I know I am a bit naive to hope for it…but I hope she can go to school in a Korea where she can be treated as a Korean and not like some interesting class pet to be talked about and pointed at but never really accepted.
Kudos to them for not trying to sugarcoat the situation by presenting beautiful models of mixed heritage but showing average-looking people who are no longer in their youth.
In some sense, the “I am a Korean” part reminded me of the “I am an American” PSAs on AFN (which a lot of Koreans I knew completely misconstrued).
I agree-kudos to them for that.
In some sense, the ?I am a Korean?? part reminded me of the ?I am an American?? PSAs on AFN (which a lot of Koreans I knew completely misconstrued).
“I am an American” is one of the all-time great public-service announcements. It’s up there with the crying Indian.
But I’m curious — how did the Koreans you know misconstrue those PSAs? I know how the ones *I* know misconstrued it (basically, by missing the point completely), but I’m curious to know how yours did.
They thought the PSA was just supposed to be a bunch of proud Americans demonstrating how proud they are to be American, which most didn’t find anything wrong with per se but they thought might not be the best message to play on the airwaves of another country, especially where perceptions of American arrogance are on issue among some segments of the population.
My interpretation (and I just now realized I may have completely misconstrued it myself) was that it was promoting the idea that Americans come in all shapes and sizes and ethnicities, sort of promoting the idea that proud Americans come in all colors… accepting and embracing ethnic diversity in a country where not everyone does.
When I explained that I thought that was the point of the ad, the reaction was far more benign. One person, though, said to me, “Don’t they already know that (that America is multi-ethnic)?”
i liked the ad as well, and thought it was interesting how the camera seemed to focus on the people’s eyes, which is where i imagine most people look when trying to figure out where someone is from.
it’s not really something new, though. three of the people in the ad were in a series of tv documentaries from a year or so ago. actually, the first guy to appear is married to the only woman, who is second last to appear. there was this sad scene where he goes around finding casual work on construction sites. all the other workers try to speak to him in broken English, although he speaks Korean to them, never anything else.
They thought the PSA was just supposed to be a bunch of proud Americans demonstrating how proud they are to be American…
Yep, that was the same perception in my office. Nobody quite figured out the nuance, which I chalked up to misunderstanding of the use of stress in the sentences. The words stressed in “I am an American” were “I” and “am” but not “American”, making the message more about how those various people were all included in the fabric of America and equally “American” as the native-born.
Being an “American” is the best volunteer job in the world.
Perhaps in mono-ethnic states it’s harder to visualize nationality and loyalty as anything other than tribal.
Anyway, I guess it’s quite easy for people to misconstrue things. That’s why it’s important for people to accurately explain them from time to time.
An interesting thing to note about your point that Korea is mono-ethnic and that that may affect perceptions of nationality: Koreans have had (and still do, to some degree) have options for which Korean state to choose. Not the same as American perceptions of being an American, but it does provide one slight degree of difference with, say, the Japanese or the Filipinos or the Vietnamese.
?… ??~??ผ~??ญ!
USA! USA! USA!
jd, what was the name of that documentary? I’d like to check that out, maybe it’s on pruna.
Here’s a second request, jd…
i’ll ask the gf this pm and see if her memory is better than mine.
This is not news…I first saw this exact same PSA on Korean TV last year.
The documentary was ??ธ?ฐ??ทน???. I saw it as well. But that particular man has been featured in other shows regarding this issue and I believe he has been involved in some activism.
Thank you for the link Marmot. The ad was really touching, I hope a lot of Koreans get to see it.
Finally, some Koreans are accepting the fact that Koreans are not an unique race in the world but a mixed race of people just like any other country in the world is.
I hope this ads break the deep-seated racism in Korean people and also lessen the unnessary nationalism. Loving one’s country is one thing but when it becomes the reason to hurt other people, just like Japan has done, it must be stopped.